Something to Love, Something to Live For
by Dreamer1920
Summary: Alternate ending to a scene in the episode 'Two Thumbs Down'.


**Hey! So, I've been thinking lately about the episode 'Two Thumbs Down'. It's an episode that I watch from time to time, and I enjoy many things about it. But there is one moment in it, in particular, that just gets me in the gut EVERY time: the scene where Sandy visits SpongeBob. Now, me being the obsessive, romantic daydreamer I am, I couldn't help but think of a different way that the scene could've ended. Eh, it's not much and it's kinda unnecessary, but I figured it wouldn't hurt anything to share it with you guys. I hope you enjoy this alternate ending to that scene! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own SpongeBob SquarePants or any of its characters, nor do I own this episode, this scene, and/or most of its dialogue.**

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**Something to Love, Something to Live For **

In the middle of the sunny day, while the rest of the world was enjoying the bright and cheery outdoors and living their normal lives, a certain yellow sponge was locked away inside his pineapple, keeping his shame hidden from the view of those other souls.

The living room was mostly dark, with the light from the sun barely shining through the miniblinds of the window that was just to the left of the steel front door. The pineapple was ever so quiet, except for the occasional sounds of chirping scallops in the distance, as well as Gary's frequent meows of concern for the little, square man sitting in the red chair.

SpongeBob's sad and tired eyes were fixed on the door in front of him as if expecting someone.

It felt as though he had been sitting there for ages; the days had passed by much too slowly for him. Ever since being sent home from work and finding life's everyday activities to be extremely difficult due to his impaired thumbs, SpongeBob was nothing less than ashamed and felt utterly useless. After all, what is a man without the use of his thumbs?

His melancholic mood was unaffected by the soft knocking from the outside of the door.

"SpongeBob, it's me, Sandy!"

And then her voice rang out. SpongeBob shut his eyes for a moment, dreading the fact that the Texan squirrel was about to enter. Her words of warning from days ago entered his mind, twisting and squeezing his brain into regret.

"_I don't know, SpongeBob. I think you should be careful."_

"_Oh, Sandy! Don't be such a worry-whale. What could go wrong?" _

He knew he should've known better than to go by his own judgment. Perhaps if he had listened to her, he wouldn't be in such a silly yet still rather harsh predicament. It seemed that every time a person would say such a thing as "what could go wrong?", they were setting themselves up for failure, almost as if the phrase was a jinx.

Suddenly, his sensitive eyeballs were met with the burning light of the outside world as Sandy pushed the door open.

Sandy smiled at him and did what she could to try and take things easy to possibly put him in a better mood. "Hey, SpongeBob! I haven't seen you in days. Whatcha doin'?" she asked in a friendly tone.

SpongeBob couldn't bring himself to look directly in her eyes. Staring straight past her, he answered in a depressed, somewhat dream-filled voice, "Waiting for autumn."

Although her face portrayed happiness that seemed lighthearted, her insides were troubled and sinking the more she looked at his disheveled state. This was not the happy-go-lucky little critter, who usually always managed to pick himself back up in hard times that she knew. She hadn't seen him so beside himself before.

His downturned eyelids and five o'clock shadow allowed her to see just how heavily the whole situation was weighing down on him, and it only made her want to help him out even more. "Come, now. It can't be _that_ bad," she offered, her voice gentle and nurturing as she stepped toward him.

He was far too miserable to allow the softness in her voice to comfort him. He wanted nothing more than to listen to her words, but his fallen pride acted like a shield of solid steel. "Leave me, Sandra. Forget you ever knew me." He insisted. "Erase from your memory the face of this _useless _sponge, with these… MUTILATED THUMBS!"

She watched in heartfelt agony as he pulled his hands out from behind his back, exposing the sheer misery his flesh had been through. Seeing the shame and pain on his innocent face affected her in a way she hadn't expected.

Sandy gasped, dropping to her knees in front of him. She looked upon him with a gleam in her eyes that showed how much she felt for him and wanted him to never lose hope. She prayed that her plea would get through to him.

"Don't give up, SpongeBob! You have to find somethin' you _love_, somethin' to **live** for!" she said desperately, placing her gloved paw over his icy, injured hand.

The warmth of her touch and the sincerity in her voice penetrated his heart. Something that he loved? Something that he was willing to go on living for? There were many things in his life that he cherished and saw as worth fighting through the pain to get through. And giving up was never an option for him until recently.

He had a wonderful job, friends, family, and a pet snail who loved him. He was young, with still so many life lessons to face – all those simple reasons _should have _been enough to make him see straight. But still, he struggled to process it.

"Huh," he scoffed. "And what might _that_ be?" the next move he made felt like he was standing at the edge of a cliff. All he did was simply look up at her.

The sunlight coming from behind them cast its light over Sandy's despaired eyes, and SpongeBob's heart sped up and skipped multiple times just by witnessing it.

"I don't know, SpongeBob," she said while shaking her head, sounding as if she was on the verge of crying. "That's a question… you have to answer for yourself."

Instantly, the ground of the cliff crumbled from beneath him, leaving him to hang onto a jagged corner that could loosen up at any moment, just by hearing her final words.

The door was shut just as quickly as it was opened. Her sudden absence left both a growing hole in his heart and a twinkle of realization.

He sat in silence, his eyes searching the floor. _Something… that I love… something to…_

He shook his head vigorously and looked back at the door. His other fingers that remained un-injured gripped the arms of the chair, and his eyes flashed with desperate hope.

"Sandy? Sandy! Sandy, COME BACK!" he cried, jumping up and outstretching his hand toward the door. Soon, that hopeful look turned to a frown. Within the past few days, he hadn't even had the energy to display such an expression; his mouth had just stayed in a bland, straight line. But watching her leave sent an explosion of strong emotions rushing throughout his body, and it quickly made its way to his face.

His eyes began to water as the massive wave of understanding crashed into him, overwhelming him. "Sandy, please! I need you to come back!" he exclaimed into nothingness, tears streaming down his cheeks.

He sucked in a sharp breath as his limbs dangled at his sides. "I need you… to come back…" he slowly dropped to his knees, covering his soaking eyes with his palms. "Please…" he shakily whispered.

As he curled up into a ball like a distraught child, he fell into his thoughts of begging Neptune above to bring that squirrel back. A few seconds seemed like hours, and he felt his fingers losing grip of what was left of the cliff.

"SpongeBob?" a curious voice called from outside.

It happened so quickly, he barely had time to look up.

The door opened, allowing the warm sunshine to hit him once again.

"SpongeBob, am I crazy, or did I just hear you callin' for me?" asked Sandy, standing in the doorway in concern for her friend.

Neptune had answered him, and now instead of falling to his death off the cliff, he had been miraculously saved.

The pure blueness in SpongeBob's eyes returned, and he shot up from the ground, running to her. "Oh, Sandy! You're here! You came back, I… " he grinned and breathed rapidly, not knowing how to handle his giddiness.

She was both amused and very confused by his sudden change in behavior. Had her encouraging words from before worked in some way? "Well, 'course I came back! I heard ya callin' my name. What's the matter? Did ya have a breakthrough or somethin'?" she asked, looking down at a smile that appeared to be a mixture of relief, gratitude and... affection?

SpongeBob nodded quickly. "Y-yes, I mean no, I mean… oh," he shook his head, chuckling slightly. "I don't know what I mean. All I know is I'm so happy you came back, Sandy. And there's something _very_ important that you should know! It's about what you said earlier."

She was a bit taken aback by the dead-serious look in his eyes. He only looked at people that way when he meant business (which wasn't all that often). "Sure, SpongeBob. I'm all ears." She turned fully toward him as they automatically joined hands, which sent a spark through him; starting at his fingers and ending at his toes.

He swallowed hard. Well, he got his second chance, _but how was he going to go about taking it?_

He pressed his lips together after his eyes briefly searched the ground for the second time. "Alright, Sandy. I'm not going to waste any time. I'm just going to say it," he said, sternly.

She nodded in response, intensifying her gaze.

"I think I…" getting lost in her eyes, his thoughts became a blank canvas. And the way that the underwater sunlight enveloped her so beautifully was a bit… _distracting._ All in all, this wasn't going how he was expecting.

Sandy's eyebrow raised, and her head moved slightly to the side at the sight of his mesmerized, love-struck stare. "Uh, SpongeBob?" she asked, waving her hand in front of his face.

"Hm?" he asked dreamily.

"What is it you were gonna say?"

SpongeBob responded by standing on his tiptoes and wrapping her in an embrace that caught her off guard. "Oh," he sighed. "I'll tell you later. Thanks for being there for me, Sandy."

It took a few moments for her to realize what was happening. Although this was a bit odd, she knew that she could _never _resist one of his hugs that always gave her the "warm and fuzzies".

She accepted his answer and squeezed him gently against her suit, shutting her eyes. "Not a problem, little buddy. _Not_ a problem." Even if this made no sense, she was grateful to see that his spirits had been lifted.

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**A/N: Ooo-kay, so… yeah, that was it haha. I KNOW this has like absolutely NO place in the actual episode. Like, it wouldn't fit well within it, AT all; totally aware of that lol. But I'm weird, so I just felt like writing it :P. I hope that you kind of liked it anyway for what it was. The next chapter of my Christmas story (and another newer story after that) will be coming soon. Thank you for reading! **


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